THE Government won the crucial Commons vote on university top-up fees with a majority of just five.

Victory for Tony Blair and his Cabinet, by 316 votes to 311, came after a day of high drama at Westminster, which began when rebel leader, the former Chief Whip Nick Brown, switched allegiance to the Government.

But despite the relief the Prime Minister and Education Secretary Charles Clarke will be feeling they still face a tough battle getting the Higher Education Bill over the rest of its parliamentary assault course.

And before that, Mr Blair, having suffered easily the biggest backbench rebellion of his leadership so far, has now to survive the second of this week's make-or-break set-piece events with tomorrow's publication of the Hutton report.

Conservatives were tonight claiming that the result was the worst ever for a Government on a vote with a three-line whip for 50 years. Labour rebels estimated that 71 or 72 party members voted against the Government.

Battle

If Mr Blair survives the publication of Lord Hutton's findings into the handling of the circumstances surrounding the death of Government weapon's expert David Kelly he still faces a battle to get the proposal through.

MPs and peers opposed to giving universities the ability to vary their fees between nothing and £3,000-a-year could still attempt to overturn this aspect of the legislation in later Commons and Lords debates.